Ari Fleischer’s Freedom’s Watch Involved In ‘Marketing Sessions’ To ‘Sell’ Iran War
Ari Fleischer’s Freedom’s Watch Involved In ‘Marketing Sessions’ To ‘Sell’ Iran War
In September, the New York Times reported that the White House front group Freedom’s Watch, led by former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer, was considering a “national advertising campaign” to make the case for war with Iran, claiming that “Iran poses a direct threat” to U.S. security. Previously, Freedom’s Watch doled out $15 million to flack for the Iraq escalation.
While 63 percent of Americans oppose to military action in Iran, Freedom’s Watch apparently believes it can coax the public into another war. Laura Rozen reports that Freedom’s Watch is involved in test-marketing “language” to sell war with Iran. Laura Sonnemark, an attendee of the sessions, describes her experience:
After joining a half dozen other women in a conference room, she found, to her surprise, that she had been called in to help some of the country’s most prominent hawks test-market language that could be used to sell a war against Iran to the American public. [...]
“He was asking questions about [Iranian president Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad going to speak at Columbia University, how terrible it was that he was able to go to Columbia and was invited,” Sonnemark says. “And he used lots of catch phrases, like ‘victory’ and ‘failure is not an option.’” [...]
“After two hours, [the leader] asked three final questions,” Sonnemark recalls: “How would you feel if Hillary [Clinton] bombed Iran? How would you feel if George Bush bombed Iran? And how would you feel if Israel bombed Iran?”
While the focus group was commissioned by another organization, Freedom’s Watch reportedly “shared information” produced by the session.
In the next step of their PR campaign, the Freedom’s Watch announced a redesigned website yesterday, complete with a new blog, “guest posts by prominent conservative figures,” and ways for visitors to be “heard directly by their members of Congress.” In an e-mail blast to supporters today, President Bradley Blakeman states, “our efforts have just begun.”
These attempts to sell war with Iran smack of the White House’s efforts to sell the Iraq war. In August 2002, Karl Rove chaired the White House Iraq Group, whose mission was to “develop a strategy for publicizing the White House’s assertion that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the United States.” At the same time, Fleischer was propagating these false assertions to the public.
As a founding member of Freedom’s Watch, it is no surprise Fleischer is importing his White House propaganda tactics for war with Iran.
UPDATE: Phoenix Woman at FireDogLake has more.
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OMG. Test-marketing a WAR??? Like it was a new kind of Coke?
Jesus. These people are just plain bugshit crazy.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:13 pmThese people are crazy. It’s almost as if they were competing with one another to prove how bat sh!t insane they are, starting a marketing campaign to sell a war. William Randolph Hearst could do it, so what the hell, right?
November 20th, 2007 at 6:13 pmWhich is it, Leftside Annie? Batshit or bugshit? We need to decide.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:14 pmbelieve in the israel lobby yet?
maybe start thinking chomsky was right?
i wonder….who’s running the country?
certainly not to the benefit americans
November 20th, 2007 at 6:29 pmWell, gummitch, I take pride in being called a “moonbat” – so I hate to denigrate bats and batsh!t by applying it to icky people like Ari Fleischer, et. al.
;o)
November 20th, 2007 at 6:29 pmthank you, frank luntz, you amoral prick.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:30 pmBushCo is The Third Reich with focus groups.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:34 pmIt’s the real fascism, the kind you’re hoping to find…
November 20th, 2007 at 6:44 pmComment by gummitch — November 20, 2007 @ 6:14 pm
I have always had a deep affection for the term “bugfu(k nuts”. Though these criminals give bugs a bad name.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:45 pmAri Fleischer (AIPAC, PNAC member) needs to be held accountable for the lies and spin he presented to the public as fact when he worked in the white house. This guy is one of the original fascist con men and will someday be prosecuted for his role in illegally spinning the facts to make the case for war in Iraq. Now it’s a Iraq redux with Iran. Does this dolt really believe that he has one ounce of credibility at this point? Does he think anyone believes a single word he says?
November 20th, 2007 at 6:46 pmFreedom Watch – What a joke! This is ANYTHING but a proponent of freedom. In fact, it’s precisely the opposite as Bush’s world is the Orwellian counterpart. This group if nothing but a mediocre gang of thugs and criminal minds.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:48 pmHow vile can the Bush crime family be? Most every day, they sink to new depths of spreading their misery across our fair planet…
November 20th, 2007 at 6:48 pmMARKETING WAR? WTF These Fascist Pigs will stoop to anything to keep the war profiting going. These people are sick in the head and need to be taken out of society and put on an island somewhere. (then we can test bomb the island)
Bush/Cheney
Hague Trials ‘09
Buck Fush
November 20th, 2007 at 6:49 pmNOTE TO ARI: The American people are no longer in the market for your brand of treason. Quit trying to sell another war, and start trying to come up with a reason why you shouldn’t be executed for enabling Bush and his war of choice for oil in Iraq. You have the blood of our troops and innocent Iraqi civilians on your hands.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:49 pmAt least Scott McClellan seems to have shaken off some of the effects of the kool-aid… poor Ari appears to bathe in it.
November 20th, 2007 at 6:55 pmAmerica is broke ( $9 Triilion in debt ) cannot pay for Iraq war ( $2 Trillion ) and this asshat is trying to sell another war with Iran ?
The US financial system is a ruse ( RIP petrodollars 1972 – 2007 ) and the illusion of higher US standard of living is being busted up all over.
This country is already in recession and another war will put it into a depression because our economy is teetering.
America’s vulnerable economy
http://economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10134118
November 20th, 2007 at 7:06 pm
How about this? Focus groups to market a war? How f@cked up is this country? Jeebus.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:07 pmWhy are you guys surprised that they are marketing a war? That’s been going on since the ’60s. We just didn’t know that’s what was going on. Jackson Browned even sang about it in a song. Now that it’s out of the closet, we can demand some truth in advertising.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:08 pmI do wonder under what circumstances BushCo could actually invade Iran. I doubt it would be as a “war” as the American public will no longer buy that approach. Nor will Congress. So, what then? Arial strikes on Iran’s “nuclear sites,” using the already pushed rubric of our national safety as the “reason?” Conspiring with Israel to have them do the dirty job while any defensive reaction by Iran will give BushCo the excuse to invade?
Rumors have it that with BushCo’s time running out, whatever they do will have to be done next spring or summer.
What do you all hear and think?
November 20th, 2007 at 7:09 pm“the test market”, oh how super capitalism will destroy our present form of goverment, what ever that is.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:15 pmThese guys are crazed, warmongering cockroaches. When you think you have fumigated, they turn up later in another corner.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:24 pmSubversive organizations like this are dangerous – the power they have allows them to be more prolific. We must all be watchful and ready to counter their propaganda.
Freedom Watch – that’s a term straight from the thinking of George Orwell. Fascism is at the doorstep, folks.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:26 pmHELLO!!!! I was polled on the Iran war from Harris Polls Online!!
November 20th, 2007 at 7:27 pmIt totally freaked me out, I wrote about it here. I copy and pasted most of it because it was so creepy. I still have it.
WHY WHY WHY !?!?!????
there are so many BETER ways to MAKE MONEY…
November 20th, 2007 at 7:31 pm…
The White House’s propaganda campaign laying the groundwork for military action against Iran dates back almost six years—to Bush’s 2002 State of the Union address in which he designated Iran as a founding member of the “axis of evil.†Since then, this drumbeat has waxed and waned as other concerns—primarily the disastrous invasion and occupation of Iraq—have often commanded center stage. Now, with the Bush administration approaching its final year in office, a renewed push and a shorter fuse are increasingly evident. My 3-minute YouTube video entitled “Forewarned Is Forearmed: Bush On Iran†is available HERE. It offers a very brief but deeply troubling chronicle of the president’s public warmongering and demonization of Iran.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:32 pmPigs.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:34 pmMerlin @ 19: If I wrote what I thought I’m sure I would have unwanted visitors. What I hear is new and renewed calls for impeachment of Cheney and Bush as a start in cleaning up the mess that our dear decider has made.
I did hear one former Army sniper that lost his legs and half his bonus say “the president should know I still can shoot straight”. Personally, I don’t want Bush assinated, I want him to be impeached and jailed for several years.
I think 40,000 wounded veterans limping, crawling, rolling in wheelchairs and blindly staggering from the Capitol to the Whitehouse would be an eye opener to many people.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:36 pmOT but I sure feel sorry for the UF Students. They are having to put up with Jake D.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:41 pmWell, hey, the marketing for the Iraq war went well, why not go for a sequal? I can imagine the behind-the-scenes discussions….
November 20th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Selling the Iran War in this way shows very clearly what some of these guys are trying to do. I have recently stumbled upon Naomi Klein’s idea of “the Shock Doctrine”, and how certain elites, here military and oil interests want to use War as a way to overpower a country’s economy. In Iraq, the war has become privatized, with corporations like Bechtel, Halliburton, Blackwater earning contracts to fight and rebuild. Other companies, such as the big oil companies are trying to tie Iraq into 30 year contracts to dig up their oil. John Bremer passed a law saying the 200 state owned companies (that were successful) need to be sold off and privatized.
Before their criminal war profiteering comes to an end with a Democratic victory, they will try this game one more time. There are plenty of industries to get their “disaster captilist” hand on.
Anyone interested more in Naomi Klein take a look at this video trailer of her book. Also YouTube her name; She has several of her speeches recorded and posted up.
I think it may even be time to act to stop this kind of thing from happening. I am tired of paying taxes that wind up going to these war profiteers. Ari Fleicher is a snake, who will use the media and any propaganda tool he can use to fool the populace into thinking we NEED to invade.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:47 pmComment by Jeannie See
Thanks for the link there Jeannie, I left a little message to the posters there.
Buck Fush says
“Jake D. was banned from Thinkprogress for being a spamming idiot, don’t respond to him.”
Man, I hate that piece of crap, what a scum sucking idiot.
Buck Fush
November 20th, 2007 at 7:49 pmArie Fleischer fits perfectly the description of Chickenhawk. Calling for a war he knows that he will not fight in it.
He wants your sons and daughters,your brothers and sisters to fight it,under the banner of Freedom Watch,a group financed by warmonegring Neocons.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:50 pmFreedom Watch…!!
Whose freedom Ari Fleitscher is watching?!!!
November 20th, 2007 at 7:58 pmBuck Fush, I just responded to your comment over there.
November 20th, 2007 at 7:59 pmIs it true these illegal acts the neocon’s like to call war the only source generating our economy?… besides our growing personal debt? And what benefits will Ari Fleischer’s receive… what’s in it for him?
November 20th, 2007 at 8:07 pmARREST ARI FLEISCHER.
It’s very simple.
ARREST HIM.
What he is engaged in is ILLEGAL.
ARREST HIM.
Once incarcerated, ask him what it was like to sit in the limo with George Bush on 9/11 and watch the WTC attack of the first tower live on closed circuit TV with the President.
IT HAPPENED. ASK HIM.
Hang all of the foreign operatives.
They are traitors to America.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:20 pmSell it ?
November 20th, 2007 at 8:22 pmHell, you war-pigs could give it away, in fact, you could pay people to accept it, you just won’t have any takers.
You go ahead & eat it.
Ari:
explain this:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Btmfs-0zujQ&feature=related
You were with him at that very second.
It was NOT on publicly available television.
EXPLAIN IT.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:27 pmok – so is this freedom’s watch basically a money-laundering operation for lobbyists to filter their bribes to politicians? – they are funded by big business and i guess that they “offer” their stats and advice to the whitehouse – so the whitehouse can’t misuse taxpayers’ money to hire a conservative think tank to advise them on war and taking away workers’ rights etc – so i guess that fleisher can also run the admins fear propaganda through the media on advice from cheney – sounds like a cosy deal…..dodgy ba****ds!!!!
November 20th, 2007 at 8:30 pmhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30VIWrher5w&feature=related
The Dancing Israelis:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0hmhLycNyQ&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdnaPGbNFZc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LecYbWM5Oao&feature=related
Ari, you pig – tell us about your foreknowledge of and complicity in 9/11.
November 20th, 2007 at 8:42 pmLearn who Traitor Ari really works for:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynWjYHP91gA&feature=related
November 20th, 2007 at 8:46 pmWe’ll be going to war in Iran. The coming economic crash will set the stage, and war will be our only way out. Even if Iran is in compliance with every treaty ever signed, even if they reach out to us to come to some mediated diplomatic alternative – the BA will manufacture a reason to attack them.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:04 pmgee – I don’t get it Wally. If they really wanted to keep Iran from getting nuclear capabilities – why’d they blow the cover of the CIA agent tracking the proliferation? Ya think they did it on purpose?
November 20th, 2007 at 9:19 pmWhy the silence on Scott McClellan’s revelation? George Bush may be involved in a criminal conspiracy. I hope this heats up after Thanksgiving.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:20 pmGeorge Bush may be involved in a criminal conspiracy. I hope this heats up after Thanksgiving.
Comment by lefttown — November 20, 2007 @ 9:20 pm
MAY BE?
MAY BE?
ARE YOU KIDDING?
HE’S INVOLVED DIRECTLY IN NOT LESS THAN 10 CRIMINAL CONSPIRACIES.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:36 pmDoes Ari have dual citizenship somewhere?
I thought he grew a conscience at some point in the past.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:43 pmAri Fleischer – War Whore
November 20th, 2007 at 9:51 pmWar for sale, death ain’t free.
November 20th, 2007 at 9:59 pmComment by Briseadh na Faire — November 20, 2007 @ 7:46 pm
LOL! And Ahnold, Bruce Willis and Sly Stallone will finance the picture!
No, wait. I forgot. WE will.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:09 pmProsecute war criminals
November 20th, 2007 at 10:17 pmHow about a focus group to market impeachment?
November 20th, 2007 at 10:21 pmThe war of the words, part deux.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:28 pmIf you have to have a focus group to sell a new war to the American public, perhaps you should really spend some time thinking about what you are trying to start.
November 20th, 2007 at 10:28 pmThe war of the words, part deux.
Comment by Xisithrus — November 20, 2007 @ 10:28 pm
Uh, wouldn’t that actually be, “Part Duh”?
November 20th, 2007 at 10:30 pmIf they’re for the war and supporting troops and stuff, shouldn’t they spend all that money on buying body armor for the troops or otherwise helping the troops ?
November 20th, 2007 at 10:30 pmPersonally, I think this quote from Henry Kissinger reveals the true feelings of Republican neocons:
“Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.â€
November 20th, 2007 at 10:36 pmOT
The AP is running the McLellan story.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:10 pmLook, this is easy to put a stop to. Somehow, someone needs to identify exactly who and for what reasons this is being pushed and who will benefit the most and then connect them to the selling of this effort.
Each time someone says this is a good idea the opposition needs to point out who behind the scenes is saying this and how they will directly benefit. Point out the fact that if they were real patriots or really concerned about security then big profits would not be at the heart of their objective.
Follow the money or the power; the few that will benefit from this are doing it at the expense of everyone else.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:12 pmPersonally, I think this quote from Henry Kissinger reveals the true feelings of Republican neocons:
“Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.â€
Comment by Keith
And don’t forget which political ideology refers to soldiers as “fodder units.”
Hint: It ain’t liberals.
November 20th, 2007 at 11:13 pmANOTHER WAR FOR ISRAEL HOOORAY!
AFTER IRAN – SYRIA AS DESSERT!
November 20th, 2007 at 11:23 pmA desert for dessert?
November 20th, 2007 at 11:35 pmWe’ve heard those marketing slogans before. They need a new marketing slogan to market the new and improved war product to the American war consumer. ADM has their “supermarket to the world”. How about : “at ChimpCo, we don’t just make a lot of the war products you buy, we make a lot of the war products you buy costlier”.
November 21st, 2007 at 12:27 amLaura Sonnemark, an attendee of the sessions, describes her experience:
“He was asking questions about [Iranian president Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad going to speak at Columbia University, how terrible it was that he was able to go to Columbia and was invited,â€
Well, I thought I was right about that when I commented on the Ailes propaganda speech at West Point. Right-wingers can foist their propaganda at West Point on the taxpayers’ dollar, but its “terrible” for a PRIVATE college to invite someone equally repugnant.
November 21st, 2007 at 1:53 amWe’ve secretly replaced this citizen’s democratic government with a fascist regime. Now let’s go to our hidden camera and see if they can tell the difference…..
November 21st, 2007 at 5:32 amAmerica will never be safe until the Right are driven out of our country.
November 21st, 2007 at 6:37 amTHE FACISTS STATES OF AMERICA’S GOVERNMENT HAS TO REALIZE THAT NO ONE TRUSTS THEM ANYMORE… HAIL BUSH!
November 21st, 2007 at 7:04 amTWO TRILLION DOLLARS and COUNTING!!!
Humm..Wonder if you could buy some kids insurance/bridges/etc. for that amount??
November 21st, 2007 at 7:08 amOf course these idiots were involved in lying to the American people. That’s what republicans do, it’s their thing. Got a joke for you. How do you tell if a republican is lying, “Simple, when his lips are moving”. They are trying to impose Rudy on us so he can continue the LIE and the war.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:28 am“MAY BE?
MAY BE?
ARE YOU KIDDING?
HE’S INVOLVED DIRECTLY IN NOT LESS THAN 10 CRIMINAL CONSPIRACIES.”
I know he is, Plunger, but this time we have someone smack inside the White House who has first-hand knowledge of it. McClellan’s testimony could prove that Bush was engaged in what John Dean called “a criminal conspiracy to defraud the government.” Jail time or worse.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:43 amBarfly: Nice job trouncing Jake D on the UF site about Gonzo’s speech! Bravo to you!
Lefttown: This McClellan information is the final nail in the Bush/Cheney coffin. Although everyone KNEW that Bush/Cheney were involved in the treasonous outing of a “covert” CIA agent, when Scoots feel on the sword for them by perjuring himself (with the guarantee that he’d be pardoned for it), no one could take it any further – although everyone knew that Bush HAD TO BE involved. Now Pandora’s Box is open and the snakes are crawling out.
I find it interesting that Bush’s MO to Scooter (aka the defacto exoneration) is precisely the same “deal” Bush gave to the telecoms to break the law.
Will Congress do their job finally and impeach these criminals?
If not, then the People will hold Congress in contempt of the constitution and impeach them all for “derelection of duty”. It is NOT their perogative to decide “if” impeachment charges shall be brought; it’s their “obligation” to do so by their oath of office under this Constitution.
How bad does it have to get before they enforce this Constitution and impeach these criminals – handily, both Cheney and Bush now MUST BE impeached for treason.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:51 amI’d say that, if Bush & Cheney are not impeached, the GOP and Repuke party will no longer exist. They will realize that it’s a worthless exercise to even run candidates with the smut and tarnish of Bush/Cheney following them.
November 21st, 2007 at 7:52 amSelling wars is nothing new. Anyone remember how Hill & Knowlton sold us Gulf War 1?
November 21st, 2007 at 8:23 ambelieve in the israel lobby yet?
maybe start thinking chomsky was right?
i wonder….who’s running the country?
certainly not to the benefit americans
Comment by rastaman — November 20, 2007 @ 6:29 pm
Israel? HA!
I think you mean Saudi Arabia.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:26 amAri Fleischer, …I say to you in the spirit of Thansksgiving..that :
November 21st, 2007 at 8:38 am‘Plastic Turkey is not an option..’
Is anyone marketing an Ari, Scott, Tony and Dana action figure set? If so, I must buy one. My G.I. Joe wants to kick some ass.
November 21st, 2007 at 8:54 amYou could call the set Ari, Scott, Tony and Dana: The four spokesmen of the Apocalypse
November 21st, 2007 at 8:56 amI guess Ari is still drinking the Kool-Aide, unlike fat Scotty who seems to be spilling some of the Bush secrets.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:17 am#75–Veritas, I hope criminal charges will be an inevitable outcome of McClellan’s revelation. It seems to me that if the evidence keeps piling up, the Democrats won’t have any choice. It will be their Constitutional duty, and silence won’t be an option. Pelosi & Rahm & Company will keep saying, “It’s too late. It’s too late,” which is bullsh*t–it’s never too late to uphold the Constitution. If there is direct evidence slapping them right across the face, they must do something. At least, I hope so.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:18 amI’ve never been so disappointed in a group of people as I am with these political animals we call Democrats. That’s why I’m not affiliated with the party, anymore. It felt good to know I’m one of the people they had to drop from their rolls. I hope people drop off like flies, and the Democrats finally come to their senses and DO something about this criminal administration.
#82….Blue stater
I wonder if Ari is drinking the Koole-Aide or selling it.
November 21st, 2007 at 9:43 amYou could call the set Ari, Scott, Tony and Dana: The four spokesmen of the Apocalypse
Comment by Menehune — November 21, 2007 @ 8:56 am
Yep, with Bush, Cheney, and Rice as The Three Stooges of The Apocalypse
November 21st, 2007 at 10:26 amIsrael? HA!
I think you mean Saudi Arabia.
Comment by toasterhead — November 21, 2007 @ 8:26 am
Both
November 21st, 2007 at 10:27 amTHE FACISTS STATES OF AMERICA’S GOVERNMENT HAS TO REALIZE THAT NO ONE TRUSTS THEM ANYMORE… HAIL BUSH!
Comment by sacopenapa — November 21, 2007 @ 7:04 am
There still is the FreeRepublic Crowd, Drudge, Coulter/Limbuaghites, and the Trolls here. We Progressives are just so out of touch with reality. After all, Al-CIAda is waiting to eat puppies on an internet broadcast and blow up voting machines next year.
November 21st, 2007 at 10:31 amAfter Ferraris, clothing design and food the best thing Italians did was hang the Fascist .
November 22nd, 2007 at 12:14 am